ETFs in Precious Metals, Shorts Shine

The top 10 ETFs for the month of February show that the places to be were in precious metals, inverse (short) funds, short-term Treasuries or overseas, especially in Europe.

All those funds, which are listed in the table below, are rated A-plus.

The Elite ETFsThese exchange-traded funds rated A-plus ratings for February

Name

Ticker

1 Month Return

3 Month Return

6 Month Return

Category

PowerShares DB Gold Fund

DGL

5.62

20.72

35.67

Sector - Precious Metals

PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund

DBP

8.42

23.78

39.52

Sector - Precious Metals

ProShares Short Russell 2000

RWM

5.63

18.4

17.6

Growth - Domestic

ProShares Short S&P Small Cap 600

SBB

4.83

15.64

16.35

Growth - Domestic

iShares Lehman 3-7 Year Treasury Bd

IEI

1.53

5.65

9.17

Government Bond

PowerShares DB US Dollar Bearish Fd

UDN

5.33

5.18

10.17

Equity Income

CurrencyShares Euro Trust

FXE

6.03

5.65

13.3

Non-US Equity

CurrencyShares Swiss Franc Trust

FXF

7.52

10.48

16.54

Non-US Equity

CurrencyShares Swedish Krona Trust

FXS

6.24

5.52

12.9

Non-US Equity

CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Tr

FXA

4.12

7.4

15.43

Non-US Equity

Another interesting feature of the list is the number of ETFs from the Powershares stable. Our lists in the past were dominated by iShares ETFs by Barclays Global Advisors.

The iShares Lehman 3-7 Year Treasury fund is the only one in the top 10 from Barclays this time. Although its return in comparison to the other funds is noticeably lower (especially for the one-month period) and it's in a very low risk category, its three- and six-month returns have been competitive.

The Federal Reserve's penchant for lower rates and other credit-crisis-saving measures have inflated demand for these securities with banks borrowing at the lower Fed rates and investing these funds into Treasuries and profiting on the spread.

One gets the feeling, however, that at the current low yields generated by high prices of these securities, walking in at these price levels may not be such a good idea.

Precious metals did very well during the month and over the past six months, however of late there has been a pullback in the prices of these commodities, so the outlook for this sector remains a little uncertain.

This is related to the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar, to the detriment of the price of gold. This relationship between precious metals and the dollar is likely to remain fluid, depending on what news comes out this year.

The precious-metals funds and the CurrencyShares foreign currency ETFs or the PowerShares DB US Dollar Bearish fund are for those investors who take a negative view of the dollar going forward, despite its recent strengthening.

Inverse funds offer an opportunity for investors who see further stock market weakness. The best inverse funds in February focused on the small-cap arena, with shorts on the S&P Small Cap 600 and the Russell 2000 performing the best.

Outside of the top 10, but also carrying a TSC A-plus rating, are the funds listed in the chart below. These give investors a few more options in the above described categories, and they include one other top performer -- PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund -- although over the last month that fund has not performed as well.

The Best of the RestThese funds also scored high

Name

Ticker

1 Month Return

3 Month Return

6 Month Return

Category

ProShares Ult Sht Russell 2000 Val

SJH

10.6

30.08

31.44

Equity Income

iShares Lehman Intrm Govt/Crdt Bond

GVI

0.24

3.61

5.98

General Bd - Investment Grade

iShares Lehman Govt/Credit Bond

GBF

0.17

3.34

5.52

Government Bond

iShares Lehman 10-20 Yr Treasury Bd

TLH

-0.14

-0.14

6.46

Government Bond

ProShares Ultra Short SmallCap 600

SDD

9

30.11

28.87

Growth - Domestic

iShares Lehman 1-3 Year Credit Bond

CSJ

0.43

3.1

4.97

Corporate - Investment Grade

CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust

FXY

4.45

8.71

10.23

Non-US Equity

PowerShares DB Commodity Idx Track

DBC

11.34

23.34

45.98

Equity Income

PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund

DBA

1.87

25.67

49.27

Equity Income

ProShares Ultra Short Russell 2000

TWM

10.86

37.21

31

Growth - Domestic

Sam Patel, CFA, is the manager of mutual fund research for the TheStreet.com Ratings.

In keeping with TSC's Investment Policy, employees of TheStreet.com Ratings with access to pre-publication ratings data must pre-clear any potential trade through the legal department, and are prohibited from trading any security that is the subject of an unpublished rating revision until the second business day after the rating is published.

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